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“Let the dead take care of burying their dead; as for
you, go and announce the Kingdom of God.” 1
One more article regarding disincarnating - an
uncomfortable and fatal experience that awaits us. We
live without worrying (thanks to God) about the day it
will come; we do not long for it; it can be a very
distant day, but it can also be a very close one.
Since the beginning, we bitter this unwanted visitor who
takes away our most beloved ones. We sometimes say:
“Take the unwanted crook or take that chronic outlaw”,
but soon we read in the Gospel the general thought: “If
he were a good man, he would have died”.2
Those who are currently outlaws or bandits, and those
who are trying to be good men and women, will all go,
one before the other, regardless of the time of landing
on the Planet.
The still limited understanding of the justice and
goodness of God does not allow us to understand that
what looks terrible can actually be a good thing. Due to
spiritual immaturity, we do not pay attention to the
whole, however, maturity can and will certainly be
achieved through effort and attitudes that strip
themselves of the materiality of the earthly existence,
seeing that there is something greater outside of it.
Every year there is a considerable wave of disembodied
Spirits, but this year - 2020 - has been a milestone for
the mass departure of Spirits, especially in the month
of May here in our Country3, due to the
health crisis and other diseases. We are, therefore,
having a greater contact with this experience of being
saddened by watching the departure of many people known
to precede us in returning to true life.
A young man, wanting to follow Jesus, told the Master
that before following Him he had to go and bury his
father. The Christ, who is all love, unceremoniously
told him to leave it to the dead to bury their dead and
follow him. The first time I came into contact with this
verse was in childhood, and I was very impressed, but no
one was able to explain to me satisfactorily what Jesus
really wanted to teach. So, since I have access to the
Spiritist Doctrine, which helped me understand that
passage, I copy the following text:
"What can these words mean: 'Leave the dead to the care
of burying their dead'? The foregoing considerations
show, first, that, in the circumstances in which they
were said, they could not contain censure for those who
considered it a duty of filial piety to go and bury
their father. However, they have a profound meaning,
which only the most complete knowledge of the spiritual
life could make noticeable.
Spiritual life is, indeed, the true life, it is the
normal life of the Spirit. Its earthly existence is
temporary and transient, a kind of death, if compared to
the splendor and to the action of the other. The body is
nothing more than a coarse garment that temporarily
covers the Spirit, a real fetter that binds the Spirit
to the earthly land, from which it feels happy to be
free. The respect for the dead is not inspired by the
matter. It is caused by the memory of the absent Spirit.
It is similar to the one caused by the objects that
belonged to it, that it touched and that the people who
are fond of it keep as relics. This was what that man
could not understand for himself. Jesus teaches him this
by saying: Don't worry about the body, think about the
Spirit; go and teach the Kingdom of God; go and tell men
that their homeland is not the Earth, but Heaven,
because you will only find true life there.”4
Clearer than this is impossible and also a relief. And
as a bonus, Jesus teaches that love does not die.
In each culture, people bury their dead in their own
way.
In Germany the preparation of the body takes days or
even weeks, there is a funeral gathering with friends
and family in a restaurant after the ceremony.
In Russia the funeral is a joyful gathering, with people
wearing colorful clothes.
In Japan, funerals take place at home. It is a ceremony
where silence and respect reign.
In Italy the fraternization is around the funeral.
Funerals take place at home and can last up to a week.
The intention is that everyone can say goodbye to the
deceased.
And in Brazil, well, we all know how it is. I went to
homes and chapels and in both I saw negative attitudes
at the time, mainly due to the ignorance of the
spiritual life.
Spiritist literature clarifies what happens at a wake;
we know that disincarnating varies from Spirit to
Spirit; the more materialized, the longer the Spirit
remains attached to the physical body, but it may happen
that the Spirit attends the funeral itself and hears the
jokes and the unfortunate comments of those present.
Since March of this year, the Ministry of Health6 has
published a protocol on funerals and burials for deaths
caused by Covid-19, due to the risk of contamination,
with a recommendation for accommodation of a maximum of
10 people and maintaining the necessary distance. For
the mourning families, this is an immense challenge.
One of the cases that Andre Luiz brought to us, through
the psychographics of Chico Xavier, is that of Dimas and
the behavior of relatives and friends during the wake,
which directly influenced the state of the disembodied,
harming him several times.
It is necessary in a wake to pay respect to both the
disembodied and its family, knowing that - who is going
to the beyond - is not the envelope, the body, but the
Spirit. It is up to us to send you the best feelings for
your outcome, the prayer in favor of your detachment and
your arrival on the spiritual plane.
Regarding prayers for those who disembodied, here is one
that I copied from Kardec’s Codification7 and
that is a psychographics by a medium in Bordeaux,
France, when a disembodied person inside a coffin passed
by his house:
“- Lord omnipotent, may your mercy extend to our
brothers who have just left Earth! May your light shine
for them! Take them out of the darkness; open their eyes
and ears! May the good spirits surround you and make you
hear words of peace and hope! Lord, although very
unworthy, we dare to implore your merciful indulgence
for this brother of ours who has just been called from
exile. May his return be like the prodigal's. Forget, My
God, the faults he has committed, and remember only the
good he has done. Your justice is unchangeable - we know
it - but your love is immense. We beg you to ease your
justice, in the fountain of your goodness that comes
from your divine bosom. Let the light shine for your
eyes, brother that is leaving the Earth! May the Good
Spirits approach you, surround you and help to break the
earthly chains! Understand and see the greatness of our
Lord: submit yourself without complaint to his justice,
but never despair of his mercy. Brother! May a serious
review of your past open the doors of the future to you,
making you realize the faults you leave behind and the
work that you are responsible for doing to repair them!
May God forgive you and may the good spirits support and
encourage you. Your brothers on Earth will pray for you
and ask you to pray for them.”
Here is a model, which does not mean that we should say
it in the same words, but in the same sense, since
praying for those who disembodied is also a way of
announcing the Kingdom of God.
The question in the very beginning of this text, the
title, is for all of us, including myself, to answer:
Is the funeral for the one who stays? Or is it for the
one who goes?
Reference:
1 Bible: Luke, 9: 59-60.
2 Kardec, Allan. The Gospel According to
Spiritism. V. IT 22. Translation by Matheus Rodrigues de
Camargo. 1st edition. 40th reprint. Capivari.
Sao Paulo. Publisher EME. 2000.
3 Madeiro, Carlos. With Covid-19, May
becomes the month with the most deaths in the history of
Brazil. Available at: Link-1 Access on September 22,
2020
4 Kardec, Allan. The Gospel According to
Spiritism. Chap. XXIII IT 7.8. Translation by Matheus
Rodrigues de Camargo. 1st edition. 40th reprint.
Capivari. Sao Paulo. Publisher EME. 2000.
5 Luiz, Andre (Spirit). Workers of
Eternal Life. [a psychographics by] Francisco Candido
Xavier. 29th edition. Rio de Janeiro.
Brazilian Spiritist Federation. 2004.
6 Ministry of Health publishes
guidelines for funerals and burials. Available
at: Link-2 Access on September 22, 2020
7 Kardec, Allan. The Gospel According to
Spiritism. Chapter XXVIII. IT 61. Translation by Matheus
Rodrigues de Camargo. 1st edition. 40th reprint.
Capivari. Sao Paulo. Publisher EME. 2000.
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